ARCHITECTS OF LIBERATION, Modernism in Western Africa

219pp.. 4to., b/w & colour illus., map, hardback, photographic inlay, MoMA, New York, 2026

ISBN: 9781633451858

Published in conjunction with the exhibition, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, July 2026 - January 2027.

The independence period in Africa, from the late 1950s to the 1980s, was a time of prolific architectural production, during which leaders of newly independent nations sought to redefine themselves and their countries in contrast to colonial rule.

Architects of Liberation focuses on the ways architects in seven western African nations - Benin (Dahomey), Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo - adapted, adopted, or reinvented the idiom of modernism for their specific cultural, political, and economic objectives.

This landmark publication features more than two hundred illustrations, including architectural drawings and archival photographs, as well as a newly commissioned photographic portfolio by François-Xavier Gbré highlighting these works of architecture.

Includes contributions by Martino Stierli, Ikem Stanley Okoye, Mallory Cohen, Adekunle Adeyemo, Guillermo S. Arsuaga, Sabrine Bako, Antawan I. Byrd, Brunno Douat, Johan Lagae, Sonia Lawson, Ayala Levin, Prita Meier, Monika Motylińska, Marcos García Mouronte, Studio NEiDA, Łukasz Stanek and Y. L. Lucy Wang.

Martino Stierli is The Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design at MoMA.

Ikem Stanley Okoye is Associate Professor in the Department of Art History, University of Delaware, with a joint appointment in Black American Studies.

Mallory Cohen is a Curatorial Associate at MoMA.